My Thong Broke

"I just couldn't believe it. My thong broke.

Nancy and I were in Colorado Springs visiting our youngest son, Ched, at the Air Force Academy over Parent's Weekend. He was with us at our hotel and, as Cadets are often wont to do on such days, he was sleeping-in. Nancy and I had slipped out on the balcony in the quiet of the morning to have a few private moments together when, not too far away, we heard someone approaching. I moved a bit too quickly to straighten up and then it happened: my thong broke. Dang it!

I caught my foot on the lower rail of the balcony trying to step back as the stranger approached and, sure enough, my thong caught on the wood and the piece which slips between your toes broke right at the base of the shoe. Ruined. A perfectly wonderful and comfortable thong ruined by one hurried misstep. I was devastated. Nancy just laughed."

. . . and so I started my sermon last Sunday morning.

From a Pastor's standpoint, it was a hoot to watch as folks jumped quickly to the wrong conclusion and then, after realizing I was talking about a shoe, began to laugh at themselves and the story which caught them off-guard. (I was seriously surprised by the number of older folk, I mean much older folk, who not only clearly understood what a thong is, but were quick to relate to the current meaning!) Unfortunately, some of the younger folks in the congregation may be permanently scarred as they continue, still, to try to get the image of their Pastor on a balcony with his wife breaking his thong out of their mind's eye. Sort of serves them right though, after all, it is this younger generation which changed the definition of 'thong' from what is now called a 'flip-flop' to something many folks I know refer to as 'butt-floss'. Talk about a paradigm shift!

The purpose of telling this story about the dual understandings of one word was to illustrate our many and varied understandings of 'Savior'. The folks around Jesus on the day He passed by the sycamore tree in which Zacchaeus was waiting were thinking of Savior as 'One who gives Divine approval to what I am doing', not One who comes to spend time with and save sinners. Yet, for Zacchaeus and many others like him, such as those with leprosy, the woman caught in adultery, blind Bartimaeus, the Geresene demoniac, the woman at the well, Lazarus, and hundreds, if not thousands, more, Savior means something quite different. To those most in need, to those most marginalized, to the ones perceived as unclean, untouchable, or as good as dead, to those whose hands stretch out the furthest just to touch the hem of Jesus' robe, Savior means, 'One who touches my wound and heals me', 'One who restores me in community', 'One who makes me clean', 'One who purifies my heart and casts out the demons which control me', or 'One who sees me beyond how everyone else knows me'. To the ones most in need, as in this case a tax collector named Zacchaeus, Savior is one who offers redemption without ever having to say a word. Just by being seen, called down from the tree, and embraced, Zacchaeus' life will forever be changed . . . and for this Jesus came into the world. For this the Savior walks our journey . . . to bring the sinners Home.

The Christian community which forgets the meaning of Savior or in some way tries to distort it to serve their own purpose and agenda forfeits their Baptismal identity and, more poignantly, understands little of their own need for grace, their own participation in the cause of sin, and their own hard-heartedness towards others. This story reminds us that the One True Savior doesn't want or need Bible-thumpers, law-slingers, or the self-righteous to 'protect Him from the crowds'. The Savior has come to save the crowds from ones such as these and will not be sidetracked from God's Mission of loving forgiveness and redemption. Being Savior isn't for everyone, in fact, it isn't for anyone other than Jesus Himself - and Jesus is quite capable of defining what Savior means for the world, thank you very much.

As for my thong, well, I haven't found another pair of thongs that fit quite as well as the ones I used to wear so, for now, I'm borrowing an old pair of Ched's which he left in the closet when he left for the Air Force Academy. They are a bit small, but are stretching out a bit as I wear them, leaving me with the thought, 'Is it true that there is no thong like a borrowed thong?' (If you rub your eyes really hard you might, just might, be able to get that image out of your mind.)

For today, allow Jesus to define and be the Savior God sent Him to be. Anything we do to define or shape 'Savior' in the world only adds to the confusion. Jesus is Who He Needs To Be: Savior of All. Thanks be to God!